Virginia HACCP Plan
Virginia has instituted the Federal HACCP Food Safety regulations for all organizations that handle food stuffs. HACCP Builder has helped many organizations in the state of Virginia reach full HACCP Plan compliance and stay HACCP complaint.
Virginia's Department of Health is stepping up HACCP enforcement and Guidelines for Submitting Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) Plans.
Virginia Health-General Code and the Code of Virginia Regulations require that plans and specifications be submitted to the local health department when anyone proposes to construct a food establishment, remodel or alter a food establishment, or significantly change/add menu item. Recent Press
Manufacturers, Ranches, Farms, Fisheries, Processors
Packing, Distributor, Warehouse, Transport, Commissary
Restaurant, Grocery, Hotel, Caterer, Hospital,
The minimum information provided must include the plans and specifications of the building and food equipment and any other information required by the local health department. A plan must be submitted that identifies foods received, processed or manufactured and the food handling and preparation procedures, as well as employee training procedures, in order to assess proper identification of potential hazards. A plan with this information is called a HACCP plan. Virginia HACCP plans are required for all facilities that are classified as MODERATE or HIGH priority facilities.
This guideline is intended to help you in providing the required Virginia HACCP plans.
1. Menu or list of foods served: Provide a copy of the menu or a list of foods that will be prepared and served to the public.
2. Food Service System: Specify the types of food service systems you will use. They include: Cook-Serve; Cook-Hot Hold-Serve; Cook-Chill-Reheat-Hot Hold Serve…etc.
3. Number of meals prepared: Estimate the number of meals served on average daily.
4. Population served: Specify what groups of people you serve. Those most at risk are children, the elderly, immunocompromised, pregnant and hospitalized people.
GENERAL FOOD PREPARATION INFORMATION:
1. Describe how you will insure that foods received are from an approved source and at correct temperature upon receipt.
2. Specify how raw meats, poultry, seafood and produce will be stored.
3. Specify the three ways to properly thaw frozen food.
4. Specify at least three ways for properly chilling and storing hot foods and the time/temperature requirements for food during the cooling process.
5. List the categories of food that will be prepared more than 12 hours in advance of serving.
6. Specify how the ingredients for cold ready-to-eat foods will be pre-chilled and mixed so as to maintain proper temperatures.
7. Specify whether any prepared foods are distributed off-premises and how temperatures will be maintained in transit.
8. Specify which foods are in reduced oxygen packaging.
VIRGINIA HACCP PLAN INFORMATION:
1. For menu items identified as potentially being involved in food-borne illnesses, a HACCP plan must be submitted and approved by the Health Department. The Virginia HACCP plans should then be available to all personnel.
2. An integral part of preparing HACCP plans is analysis of how menu items are prepared. The most important steps to insure food safety, known as Critical Control Points (CCPs) must be identified on the HACCP plan. For each CCP, a potential hazard can be avoided by properly completing an activity. The activity often has a measurable component or limit that can be monitored. CCPs generally include thawing, cooking, chilling, reheating, hot-holding or cold-holding. The ways in which the CCPs are monitored must be described on the HACCP plan form. If the activity at the CCP is not completed properly due to employee error, equipment malfunction, etc, a corrective action is necessary. The corrective action must be specified on the Virginia HACCP plan form.
GENERAL VIRGINIA HACCP PLAN INFORMATION:
HACCP means Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points. HACCP can be used in restaurants, grocery, distribution, processors, farms, dairies, bakeries, ranches and more to keep food as safe as possible. HACCP is a food borne illness prevention solution and is enforced by such agencies as the USDA's Food and Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
HACCP is a scientific process control system for eliminating contaminants at critical areas in the food production, distribution and preparation. Process HACCP helps to prevent, as close to 100 percent as possible, harmful contamination in the food supply. Click Here To See Client List.
Click to see the HACCP based S.510.ES Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA - FDA) signed into law in January 2011.
What is Food-Borne Illness?
The official definition of a food-borne disease outbreak is when two or more cases of a similar illness result from eating a common food. Each year in the United States between 6.5 to 33 million cases of illness are attributed to food-borne illness and 9,000 people die as the result. The cost of these illnesses is estimated at tens of billions of dollars. Most food-borne diseases are mild and usually go unreported. Many people who think they had the 24-hr flu most likely had a case of food-borne illness. For high risk populations such as young children, the elderly, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems and chronic disease, food-borne illness can be life threatening. Symptoms and their duration can vary depending on the type of organism or toxin eaten. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, muscle aches, dizziness, tiredness, weakness, and fever.
HACCP Builder's complete prevention based Food Safety Management System addresses these issues, and goes beyond track and trace - because there is much more to HACCP then just track and trace - there is prevention (see S.510.ES). All updates to the HACCP Builder Food Safety Management System product lines are included with your subscription - so, there is no need to worry about upgrades! HACCP Builder's system automatically assigns all CCP's, CP's, biological, chemical, and physical hazards.
Please take some time and browse our website to learn more about the HACCP Builder HACCP based Food Safety Management System. Together, with our clients, we deliver simplicity, efficiency, compliance and, most of all, Food Safety.